Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Psalms

Collect of the Week

O Lord, Father of all mercy and God of all comfort, You
always go before and follow after us. Grant that we may rejoice in Your
gracious presence and continually be given to all good works; through Jesus
Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Psalm 30

1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and
have not let my foes rejoice over me.

2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have
healed me.

3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you
restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.1

4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give
thanks to his holy name.1

5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for
a lifetime.1 Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the
morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never
be moved."

7 By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand
strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.

8 To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for
mercy:

9 "What profit is there in my death,1 if I
go down to the pit?2 Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your
faithfulness?

10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my
helper!"

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you
have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O
LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

You cannot pray Psalm 30, apart from the preaching of
Christ. That’s not hyperbole. It’s not an overstated nugget to try to make
a point. That’s the truth. You cannot pray the prayer of Psalm 30 apart from
the preaching of Christ.

Apart from the preaching of Christ, there is no
healing. Apart from the preaching of
Christ there is no restoration of life, either in this world or the next. Apart from the preaching of Christ there are
no praises, song or spoken. Apart from
the preaching of Christ our enemies are the ones rejoicing, and therefore, Apart
from the preaching of Christ, it is impossible to pray Psalm 30.

But with the preaching of Christ there are promises
forevermore. With the preaching of
Christ there is victory over all your enemies: sin, death, and the devil! With the preaching of Christ there is healing
for the sin-sick soul in the forgiveness of sins, and healing for the body in
the resurrection. With the preaching of
Christ there are praises and prayers and thanksgiving offered to the LORD in a
chorus of unending song. With the
preaching of Christ, you cannot help but pray this Psalm.

The preaching of Christ—for you—is what turns our mourning
into dancing, and clothes us with gladness.
The preaching of the cross and the empty tomb—for you—is your glory, and
the source of any praise on your lips.
The preaching of Christ is for you, and for your praise, and the reason
we give thanks forevermore.

Christ is crucified, and risen, for you! In the name
of + Jesus. Amen.

Prayer

Thanks to You, our Father in heaven, for the countless
blessings You have bestowed on us from our childhood days. Thanks to You
because You so often have been our Helper in spiritual and bodily need. As in
the past, be with us in the future to give us a joyous heart, to uphold us in
trials, to strengthen us in temptations, and to comfort us by your Holy Spirit through
the preaching of Christ. Amen.